


Lavellan's past

by FenarielTheDalishMage



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Creation of past, Dalish, During Inquisition, Gen, M/M, Magic, Pre Inquisition, based on lore from previous work, slavery and abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-16
Updated: 2015-07-16
Packaged: 2018-04-09 13:43:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4351019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FenarielTheDalishMage/pseuds/FenarielTheDalishMage
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The inner circle learns of Lavellan's past and reacts to the traumatizing story of the inquisitor's past.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my second work. Based on some created lore in Len Irlahnash Fen.

A young elven boy ran through the forest. His pants that he wore were torn and ripped and his feet were covered in dirt and bleeding. His long silver hair trailed behind him in a messy braid as his breath became ragged. His golden eyes were wide with fear. The sound of horse hooves could be heard behind him, steadily getting closer. 

“Where the ‘ell did that knife ear run off too? ‘E’s young and don't got none of those tattoos on ‘im so ‘e will fetch a good price. I don't know maybe 80 sovereigns possibly 90 but that's only if we find ‘im!” A large ferelden voice rang out through the trees. Several other voices joined him in agreement as they yelled and laughed, whistling for the elf like you would a mabari. The elf came to the bottom of a cliff and started to quickly climb up the ragged wall of rock. 

“Dammit where'd ‘e go?” The horses came to a halt as they searched for the boy. One of the men pointed at the scrawny body climbing the cliff and laughed at the feeble attempt at escape. The men started to throw rocks to dislodge the elf. One rock made contact with the elf's back and that was enough to make him fall. One of the men fired a crossbow with a net loaded and it caught the elf and the net was pinned to a tree with an arrow. The boy started to panic as he screamed.

“Banal! Ma halani, len? Ma halani!”  
(No! Help me, anyone? Help me!)

The men got off their horses to admire their catch. “That's what you get, knife ear. No ones comin’ to ‘elp you. Stop struggling and be a good little slave!” The man hit the young elf repeatedly with the butt of his crossbow. All of a sudden an arrow lodged itself in the back of the man closest to the elf. Another two were fired into the backs of the other men. They were still alive but barely as two women and a dwarf came into view. 

The first woman had a scar down her face and her short black hair was wrapped in a braid around her head. She held a sword and shield and spoke in a thick nevarran accent. “Filth. You disgust me and sully the name of the maker!” The woman shoved her sword through the back of one of the men and he screamed in pain as he died. 

The second woman walked slowly up to the next man. Her orange hair cradled her face as she smile and slit the man’s throat. She spoke with a thick Orleisian accent. “You who would harm a little boy and sell him into slavery, die in the void.”

The dwarf stepped over the two corpses and shot the last man in the head with his crossbow. “Yeah, well I hate to interrupt your religious death sermons or whatever but we should probably tend to the kid over there. Just saying.” 

The nevarran woman walked quickly over to the net and cut it open. The boy looked terrified as the woman tried to pull him out. He screamed in elven and kicked the woman, trying to escape. “Easy now we only want to help. Stop struggling!” 

The ginger woman walked over to the other and sighed. “Cassandra, you must be gentle. Look at the poor thing he is scared half to death. Let me see if I can help, I know a little bit of elven. Atisha da’len, ar lasa dareth.”  
(Peace little one, you are safe.)

The elven boy stopped squirming so much as the woman picked him up and held him in her arms. “See? All better.” She put the boy down and watched as he climbed up a tree swiftly to protect himself.

“Wow nightingale he climbs fast. His clan must live in the forest most of the time. Come on out kid it's okay. We won't hurt you, well we won't but the Seeker might.” The dwarf chuckled as he pointed to Cassandra.

“Enough, Varric! Lelianna can you try to coax him down? He looks injured, he needs treatment.”

“I will try to Cassandra. But he seems too scared, I cannot blame him but he must be exhausted. We could always wait him out.” Lelianna turned to the Seeker and continued to speak. “And I do not know much more elven so it might be hard to communicate with him. He looks as if he only speaks elven.” 

Cassandra sighed and put her hand to her head, obviously annoyed. The dwarf chuckle and took something out of his pocket. “Let me try Seeker, I got a few tricks up my sleeve.” The dwarf showed an apple to the young elf who’s eyes watched the fruit. “Yeah you're hungry aren't you? If you come down here you can have it.” The dwarf patted the ground trying to communicate with the boy. The elf slowly descended from the tree and inched forward cautiously and grabbed the apple before backing up against the tree. He winced as his right leg buckled and he fell to the ground. A large gash could be seen stretching from the top of his leg to the side of his shin.

The dwarf too out some bandages and poultices and tried to go near the boy but stopped when he saw something glittering on the elf's neck. He went back to the two women and spoke to them quietly. “He has a collar on his neck. It looks to have suppression runes on it. You know what that means right?” 

“The boy is a mage” Cassandra eyed the boy cautiously as she got into a defensive stance. 

Lelianna put her hand on Cassandra’s shield and pushed it back down. “Cassandra, he is only a boy. A boy who, may I remind you, has just narrowly been saved from slavery. He probably cannot even understand what we are saying." She turned to the young boy. "Can you understand us da'len?"

The boy just bared his teeth and growled, his ears twitched anxiously and he settled into a defensive crouch.

"Hey Nightingale, you see the way his ears twitch? It means he's more scared than angry. He won't attack us unless we try to harm him...probably." Varric whispered to Lelianna and hesitated on the last word.

"Probably? Varric can't you do any better?" Cassandra was starting to think this whole situation was just a lost cause. "Besides, Lelianna we have our orders. We need to head to Val Royeux. Divine Justinia wants to see us and we are already behind schedule."

"Wow Seeker, you really are compassionate! And here I thought that you just treated me specially." The dwarf commented sarcastically and slowly approached the boy speaking softly to him. "You know you remind me of a Dalish elf who's my friend. I call her daisy. She's a mage just like you, though she's probably a little older." He reached out to grab the clasp of the collar and when he touched it the boy screamed out as sparks of electricity ran through his body. The dwarf quickly pulled his hand away. "Shit! The collar has a trap rune on it." 

The elven boy just curled up against the back of the tree and shook with fear at the three strangers in front of him. 

Lelianna tried to come close to the boy but he just screamed and tried to get up and run. The boy closed his hands over his mouth and made a sound that was similar to a wolf's howl. Multiple howls sounded throughout the woods in response. The three went back to back as they watched the shadows carefully looking for the wolves. Multiple cries sounded. Some sounded like birds, others like bears, and some like the yips and cries of foxes. Shadows swooped down from the trees as a group of Dalish elves, armed with bows and daggers, surrounded the group. One of the female elves ran towards the boy and examined his body she spoke quickly in elven to him and the boy responded. She cursed under her breath as she called out like a wolf. She then picked up the boy and carried him in her arms as she gave a command to the hunters. They all nodded and one of the men came forward. His brown hair was slicked back to show a young face with fierce orange eyes. He spoke in a commanding tone.

"You three! Follow!" The hunters moved still surrounding the three and forcing them to follow the woman who held the boy in her hands.

After walking for about an hour they started hearing voices speaking in a language they could only assume was elven. There many different ones, young and old an occasional bark or halla call interrupted the speech sometimes.


	2. Magic can be beautiful.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clan Lavellan watches Fenariel return with mixed emotions.

The group entered the large clearing and entered the camp that was settled next to a lake and waterfall. Most of the voices quieted into whispers as the party entered the camp with two humans and a dwarf in tow. The woman carried the boy towards the largest aravel.  
“Keeper Deshanna! Ar’an isala halani.”  
(KeeperDeshanna! We are in need of aid.)

An older elven woman dressed in robes emerged from the aravel and walked over to the group. She took the boy into her arms and examined him carefully. She spoke quickly in elven but the boy didn't respond. He pushed aside his long silver hair to reveal the runed collar around his neck. The keeper gasped and quickly held the boy firmly. A crowd had now gathered whispering and murmuring watching the strangers with caution. A woman with short blonde hair pushed her way to the front. When she saw the boy she cried and ran over to the keeper. She was handed the boy and started hugging him and crying in joy.  
“Ma da’len! Banal enfalim ma!”  
(My little one! Don't scare me like that!)

She covered the boy’s face in kisses But stopped and gasped when she saw the collar around the boy’s neck. She put him down on the ground and used her magic to try and dispel the runes on the collar. But it just shocked her hand and she cried out in surprise. The woman rose to the keeper and spoke to her quickly. Two older teenagers who appeared to be twins ran through the crowd and crouched in front of the boy. They seemed to be scolding him and the boy just cried. The two sighed and both hugged the boy. One of them said something to the Keeper and put the boy on his back and carried him to another aravel. The other eyed Lelianna and Cassandra then nodded silently as a thank you and then followed his twin.

The keeper then quieted down the crowd and approached the three. She spoke in a strong voice. “I assume we have you to thank for Fenariel's safe return?” 

Lelianna nodded “An’daran atish’an. Yes, we were traveling in the forest when we heard a young boy yelling. We found him being pursued by three slavers, they are now dead and cannot hurt anyone else.” 

The keeper was surprised to hear a human greet her in elven but nodded anyway. “Ma serannas. I am keeper Deshanna. The boy you saved, Fenariel is my second and his mother Nisha is my first. I am sorry for the harsh treatment you received but you must understand that the hunters had to be suspicious. Though, Fenariel told the head hunter that you saved him. You are welcome here as far as I am concerned. You not only saved my second but also my grandson. And for that I am ever grateful.” The woman dispersed the crowd and they all went back to what they had been doing before. 

“Of course, I could not stand by while an innocent was being harmed. If we are allowed I would like to see how the boy is doing. I am concerned about the collar around his neck.” Lelianna responded. The keeper nodded and Varric started talking as they walked. “What was a kid doing all the way out in the forest, if you don't mind me asking?”

The keeper nodded. “Fenariel never liked to be trapped in the camp so he often explored the area. He is unusually fast even for a Dalish, his magic is also almost fully developed even though he is still young. I don't understand how they got the collar around his neck though. I will ask him about that later.”

Cassandra interjected. “Does he only speak elven? He didn't seem to understand us before.”

At this the keeper laughed. “No he knows shem’len language but he rarely uses it so he doesn't really understand it unless it is spoken slowly. He also probably didn't trust you enough to respond to you until he heard elven.” Cassandra sighed and the group reached the aravel where the master crafter was examining the collar. The man looked up when he heard the keeper. He spoke in a deep raspy tone and looked around the same age as the keeper. “Ah, vhenan it is good to see you. It seems our grandson has gotten into quite a bit of trouble. These runes are very complex and they have a trap mechanism that prevents the collar from being removed. We will probably need to use the Aru’lin Holm. I will go get it, for now you three can speak to the boy if you want, his injuries are being treated by Danto and Canto." The twins turned at the mention of their names but just went back to work. 

“These are Danto and Canto, they are Fenariel's older brothers. They are both in training to be healers. Fenariel how are you feeling da'len?”

The boy looked up and glared at Cassandra and then totally ignored her. He then looked at Varric and Lelianna and nodded. “Better, but this dreaded collar won't come off! It smells like an advanced trap rune with a novice electricity rune.” Varric arched an eyebrow at the boy’s comment.

“Wait a sec, you can tell what kind of runes are on it by smell? That's amazing!” 

Lelianna ignored the dwarf’s comment and Cassandra just walked away after grumbling. “It is good to see you alright, Fenariel was it?” The boy nodded and clicked his tongue in anticipation as the crafter returned with the magical tool. When the tool touched the color the runes quieted and the boy ripped the collar off and rubbed his neck soothingly. “Ha! Take that you shem piece of crap!” The boy then had his brothers step back and closed his eyes. His hands glowed green and he sighed as his wounds started to heal. After he stopped he put pressure on his leg and seemed satisfied. He whistled loudly and a bark sounded from the other end of camp as a wolf came bounding towards the boy and jumped on top of him. 

“Haha! Assan, banal, banal!” After hearing the command the wolf sat down happily and barked.  
(Haha! Arrow, stop, stop it!)

Lelianna giggled as she watched the boy happily. She stopped when the boy came up to her and sniffed her. She stood still watching the boy suspiciously as the boy said something to the wolf who barked in response. “What? Do I smell bad or something?”

The boy shook his head. “No, but you look like a shem’len and smell like a shem’len, but you don't act like a shem’len. What are you? You don't smell like the beyond so you must be-” his mouth was covered by his brother Canto who quickly chastised him.

“The beyond? Wait the fade, how do you know what that smells like little one?” Lelianna kneeled down to the boy and eyed him curiously. 

The boy twitched his ear then ran off to one of the aravels that had children near it. They all nodded to him and one of the girls handed him some new clothes and let him go in and change. He soon came out with his wavy, silver hair that reached down to the back of his knees. He then ran over to the lake and made sure that Cassandra was watching him as he took a step on top of the water. The Seeker watched him, jaw dropped. He ran to the middle of the lake and stood staring defiantly at the seeker. Lelianna came over and sympathetically sighed as she whispered to Cassandra. “He is freezing the places where he is putting his feet so it appears he is walking on the rope of the water.” The Seeker regained her composure and crossed her arms, not amused. 

Danto and Canto snickered then started talking amongst themselves not noticing that Varric was listening. “The shem with the attitude seems to dislike magic with a passion.” “Yeah well she seems to dislike everything with a passion, look at the way she holds her shoulders they are all uptight. Plus look at her blade it is so polished that the sharpness is probably reduced by a good amount.” “Yeah well I’ll bet you that glazed apple I still have from the festival that she's a noble.” “Deal you win and I'll give you the bag of cookies I got from Hassa.” The brothers touched their foreheads together and went over to watch their brother.

The dwarf walked up to the boys and cleared his throat. “Just so you know, the Seeker is nevarran nobility so you won the bet.” Varric pointed to Canto and watched the elf smile as he took the bag of cookies from his brother and patted the dwarf on the head walking away. Danto walked over to the lake mumbling then yelled to his brother in elven. And a crowd started forming around the lake as he opened his mouth and begun to sing. Lelianna recognized the song and came over to watch the boy. 

He moved gracefully across the water dancing and creating ice formations as he moved. He danced like the wind moving slowly and steadily but also unpredictably. The Seeker watched him closely as she saw him slide across the ice. A large tree made of ice formed in the center of the lake and was surrounded by ice flowers. He then made one figure of an elven woman leading a young elven boy to the tree. 

When he was done, the Seeker looked amazed as the elves around him showed a mix of different emotions then slowly dispersed. Some of the children lingered watching her but they quickly rushed off when she glared at them. Fenariel bowed to the ice sculpture in respect then snapped his fingers and in a second the ice shattered into tiny little snowflakes that quickly melted in the water. He walked over to the Seeker and smiled. He spoke softly and gently as he placed a flower in her hand. “Magic is not only a thing of destruction, it can also be a thing of beauty.” The boy then walked away and headed towards his mother who took his hand and led him towards one of the aravels. The keeper walked over and spoke with pride in her voice. “That boy is wise beyond his years. He has seen first hand what magic can do, whether it be destruction or creation. Most of the clan view him as some monster but some view him as a gift from the gods. Come, I would like to speak with you three about something.” The keeper motioned and they followed her to her aravel.

They sat around the fire and listened as the Keeper spoke addressing the three. “I sense you will be thrown into chaos soon. Much like I have sensed in him. The child's magic first manifested when he was only three years of age. The end was not pretty, half the camp burst into flames and many of the clan perished. Most of the clan still resent him to this day, though thankfully the children have accepted him somewhat. It breaks my heart that last night when Fenariel didn't return some of the clan thought it was a blessing. The boy knows that he is hated by most here yet he continues to smile, how I do not know.” Cassandra looked down grimly. 

Lelianna finally spoke. “That…is horrible. Are they not his family?”

“Yeah but that's what makes him even more terrifying, Nightingale.” The dwarf responded slowly remembering how Merrill’s clan treated her after she left.

“I will not lie, some members of the clan have abused him. It leaves scars in his heart that pull at his dreams and haunt his thoughts. I ask you three this, if you ever cross paths with him again please, do what you can to protect him.” The keeper then walked away leaving the group to think about what they just heard.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Fenariel sings is Lelianna's song from dragon age origins.


	3. Heart to heart.

After that the keeper asked the group to stay for a few days and see how they live. They couldn't really declined so they ended up staying.

Late that night when everyone was sleeping Cassandra woke up to the sounds of footsteps. She watched as Fenariel walked out of camp with his wolf. She quietly followed him and watched as he stopped in the middle of a few trees. She watched as the boy just sat there and was surprised when he spoke aloud. “Come on out shem’len. I know you're there, I could smell you a mile away and your armor makes noise when you walk.” Cassandra came out from behind a tree and sat with the boy as he built a small fire pit using sticks. She watched as a blue fire started and she stared at it warily. “Calm down shem, it's just veil fire. It doesn't burn you.” The boy put his hand through the fire, then took her hand and gently guided it into the flame. If anything it felt cool and soothing but tingled a bit.  
“So why did you come out here? Aren't you happy in camp with your mother and brothers?”

“No. I can feel everyone's eyes on me there, here it's just me, Assan, and the trees. Much less staring and less fear.” The boy sighed and looked up at the moon. “Fen’Harel take me. I can't believe I got caught, I was reckless.” The boy pulled his knees up to his chest.

“What were you even doing? You know for a smart kid, you did a pretty stupid thing.” Cassandra seemed to soften towards the boy.

“I was out exploring the forest when I smelled some shems so I decided to check it out. I got close enough to their camp to hear them talking about the camp. They weren't supposed to know we were here. They had cages with them, so I figured they were slavers. We see them every now and then but not much. I decided that I'd destroy their camp and trash their equipment and maybe take a few of them down in the process. But I got careless and one grabbed me by the hair and once I electrocuted him, which was amazing if I do say so myself, another one slapped that collar on me. Then it was a lot of running, tripping, and stumbling more than I'd like to admit to be honest.”

Cassandra looked at the boy with respect. He had been trying to protect his family and clan even though they hated him. “So you were actually being brave, not stupid.” Fenariel looked up at the Seeker and nodded. Cassandra got up and beckoned the boy. “Come on, we should both get some sleep. Let's go back and you can show me how sleeping in a tree is more comfortable than on the ground.” Fenariel nodded and Assan followed. They got back to camp and Fenariel used his magic to create steps made of ice to help Cassandra climb the tree. He then showed her how he used his spirit magic to shape the branches into a sort of hammock shape. He made two of them and let Cassandra climb into the bigger one while he and Assan climbed into the smaller one.

“This actually isn't that bad.” Cassandra turned onto her side facing the boy.

“Heh yeah just don't look down. Dareth therenas.”  
(Safe/sweet dreams.)

with that the boy closed his eyes and cuddled up with the wolf and fell asleep. Cassandra stayed up for a while and then eventually fell asleep. 

Cassandra woke up to the sounds of soft sobbing. She looked over and saw that Fenariel was gone. She saw him at the lake and he looked to be hunched over. She slowly got up and made her way over to him. She saw that he was throwing up and that his body was shaking. She put her hand on his shoulder and he gasped then quickly turned to see her standing there. He moved back and threw up again as he held his body protectively. Cassandra knew this look, she had seen it before in the faces of some of the children who lived in the local chantries and even some mages in the circles. She spoke softly as she rubbed his back soothingly. “They didn't just put that collar on you did they?” The boy nodded slowly and sobbed into his arm. He spoke in between sobs. “I could never tell my mother or Keeper Deshanna, not my brothers or grandfather. I'm unclean now, not fit to live as the second.” Cassandra held the boy close to her chest. “Do not ever think that, it was not your fault. The bastards who did it to you are at fault, and now they can't hurt you ever again.” The boy nodded and cleaned his face.

"You know you're not bad, for a shem."


	4. Friends.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the inner circle reacts to hearing the inquisitor's past. The anniversary of that horrible day is soon and Cassandra needs help. The inquisitor is plagued by nightmares and only his friends can help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty much all fluff. The song the inquisitor sings is Mir Da'len Somniar - a Dalish Lullaby. Link here: http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Elven_language#cite_note-11
> 
> I don't know if I'll make another chapter, if you think I should comment with ideas, my brain is kind of jelly right now.

“After those few days there the clan moved north and Lelianna and I continued our work with a dwarf following us around. That's the last I saw of the inquisitor until the explosion at the conclave. At first I didn't think it could be him, but then I found him one night in the woods in that same position and I put my hand on his back. He never forgot about us. His mother passed the next year and he became the first to the keeper.” Cassandra took a drink from her tankard as everyone just sat there with similar expressions.

“Maker’s breath I knew the inquisitor didn't like humans but I thought it was just because that's how he was raised.” Cullen sighed as he sat back in his chair.

“Something like that must stay with you for life, maker’s balls.” Blackwall wiped his face with his hand.

Dorian just sighed and took another sip of his wine as he cursed under his breath.

“Shite, just shite” Sera got up and threw a dagger into a wall.

“Oh inquisitor” Josephine just held her hand over her mouth in a shocked expression.

“Come here dear” Vivienne held Josephine in and embrace.

“Cole did you ever try to help the inquisitor?” Solas asked the spirit who just say on the floor playing with a spinning top the inquisitor had given him. “He told me I wasn't allowed to talk about it. I don't think I could help him anyway.”

They all looked shocked at the spirit as he said something no one ever thought he would say.

“Hey, Seeker why are you telling everyone about Kadan’s business? This is none of their concern! That's something private you don't just go telling everyone something like this!” Bull got up angrily and walked over to Cassandra.

Cassandra sighed. “Because tomorrow is the anniversary and I don't know what the inquisitor will do. To be perfectly honest, I think what he needs now is to be surrounded by friends who care about him, that's why.” 

“I won't tell him but he'll know something is up. He's to smart not to and that's when you'll have to tell him that you told us all about it.” Bull walked out of the tavern angrily. Cassandra sighed and whispered to herself “then I will suffer the ramifications.” 

Fenariel was a boy again, running through the forest screaming for help as invisible hands grabbed him. He heard this same voices as forced his mouth open and approached with evil gleams in their eyes.

He woke up in his bed screaming and shaking. He realized where he was and looked out the window at the moon, that was still high in the sky, and started to cry. He cursed under his breath and, after getting sick in his bathroom,wiped his face with a cool cloth then climbed into the branches that hung high above his bed and grabbed a large stuffed animal, of a wolf, that Cole had given him, and placed it where Assan would have slept. He finally fell into the merciless pattern of restless sleep.

The next morning, Fenariel sat in his bathing room that had been given to him as a gift by Empress Celine and Ambassador Briala after Halamshiral. It was a large marble bath that was large enough to fit six Iron Bulls in with room to spare. Briala had put an elf’s touch on it and had trees growing out of the walls and instead of fire sconces there were deep mushrooms and veil fire illuminating the room. It smelled of the forest and had tropical butterflies and birds that lived in the room. The elf just closed his eyes and sighed, getting up and grabbing a towel. He slowly dried himself off as he anxiously went over what he would have to do today. Dealing with all the diplomats and making decisions that had thousands of lives resting on each word. He hated this, all these responsibilities and having to lead people in the name of the Maker, a God who he didn't even believe in. He prayed to the creators for help but as usual there was no answers or relief. He thought maybe if he was fast enough he could sneak into the barn and grab his horse and escape Skyhold for the day.

All those hopeful thoughts of escape left as he heard a knock at his door after he had finished dressing. “Enter.” Josephine entered the room and saw the inquisitor braiding his long silver hair and tying it with a red ribbon. She noticed the bags under his eyes and how exhausted he looked. Josephine cleared her throat. “Inquisitor I thought that today you needed a break so I have taken the liberty of clearing your schedule for the day.” The inquisitor eyed the ambassador suspiciously as he nodded slowly. “Okay, is there anything else Josephine?” “Just that Seeker Pentaghast has asked you to meet her by the training dummies as soon as possible. The inquisitor nodded and Josephine left.

The inquisitor went down to the training area and saw Cassandra in her usual spot. She stopped as she saw the inquisitor approach and smiled at him. “Good morning inquisitor.” Fenariel eyed Cassandra and spoke cautiously. “Cassandra what are you up to? You only make that look when you're scheming or Oh creators is Varric dead!” The inquisitor had decided that's what happened. Varric was dead and now Cassandra knew she could finally have some peace. He stopped when he heard Cassandra laugh. “No inquisitor sadly that dwarf is still alive, but I wanted to talk to you about something. As you know some of our soldiers, mainly the Templars are wary of the mages here. I was trying to think of a way to ease the tension but I couldn't think of anything myself so I wanted to ask you if you had any ideas.”

Lavellan knew it was a trap but he was interested to see where this was going so he played along. “Bring the soldiers who are uncomfortable with magic to Crestwood’s lake. I have an idea.”

Cassandra nodded and the inquisitor walked towards the stables to get his horse ready for the journey to Crestwood .

The inquisitor was sitting in the middle of the lake with his eyes closed, listening to the sound of the wind on the water. As he heard footsteps approach and stop at the edge of the lake he got up and took a deep breath.

He opened his mouth and began to sing as he started to dance across the surface of the water. He moved the same way he did all those years ago and Cassandra smiled watching the the man she had met as a boy, for the first time she noticed how he'd grown and matured. Ice figures started to appear but created a different image. Instead of creating the tree, a throne appeared. Instead of the elven woman, a young elven man was created and next to him stood the bodies of two elves, eight humans, one Qunari, and one dwarf. They stood together at the elf’s sides and all were smiling and standing proud. Each of the figures had the most amazing detail and it was easy to tell everyone apart. The inquisitor finally stopped and opened his eyes, his smile warm and welcoming. He saw his companions staring at the sculptures created, even Solas and Vivienne were smiling. 

Fenariel walked across the water to the edge of the lake and reached his companions. He embraced Bull and then smiled smugly as he snapped his fingers and all of the figures burst into snowflakes and sparkles. Cassandra stepped forward and put her hand on his shoulder as she spoke proudly. “Magic is not only a thing of destruction, it can also be a thing of beauty. Isn't that right inquisitor?” Fenariel smiled fondly at her and nodded. As they all started walking away Fenariel started to collapse he tried to say something but nothing came out as he lost counciousness. Everyone all turned quickly as they heard a soft thud. Cole had caught the elf in his arms. Bull ran over to check him and saw he was sleeping.

“Nightmares catching, tearing but now warm sun. Trees growing, birds singing surrounded by friends and no more will the cliffs be jagged. Flowers sprout and cover up the ashes of the burned forest as it starts to grow again.” Varric smiled and patted the spirit on the arm. “Good job, kid. Tiny I assume you'll carry the inquisitor back to the keep and then we can get back to Skyhold.” Bull nodded as he took the sleeping inquisitor into his arms and held him like he was a piece of fragile glass. The inquisitor's head rested against Bull’s chest and a small smile crept onto his lips. As he spoke softly in his sleep. “Emma dar etha, tel u…ma serannas.”  
(I am safe, not alone anymore…thank you.)

Solas smiled as he translated it to Bull who looked down at his Kadan fondly and planted a gentle kiss on his forehead. They journeyed back to Skyhold the whole time the inquisitor slept. That was probably the first time he had slept in days and for the first time he slept soundly without nightmares.


End file.
